


Your Circle membership is showing

by theleftboobgrabber



Series: My mama don't like you [2]
Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, maryse is the devil in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 12:12:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6518845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theleftboobgrabber/pseuds/theleftboobgrabber
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maryse pushes too far and Alec snaps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Circle membership is showing

Alec is furious.

And yet again his mother is to blame. At least Robert actually tries to express his disapproval of their relationship as concern for his eldest son. But his mom? Nope. She can’t be bothered to stay civil with Magnus or Alec, picking every opportunity to insult them one way or another.

*

The day hadn’t began well anyway. Izzy and Alec had took Clary on night patrol with them, keen on training her as much as they could until Valentine’s next attack. Not only was it their duty to teach her but since Jace was gone, they felt responsible for his sister... And Jocelyn was still recovering from her coma, making her incapable of helping with the physical part of shadowhunter education. But what should have been a simple furtiveness exercise with some practice night tracking a single target in large crowds of mundanes turned into the three of them, knee deep in the murky water of a sewer in East Village, battling a nest of Shax demons. They had spent hours down there, surrounded by wave upon wave of attacking beasts set on drowning them by the their formidable numbers. Clary did good, holding her place strongly during the fight, and Alec was proud to see her kill what appeared to be their last enemy with her seraph blade. When they had emerged from the sewer, covered in filth and blood, the first lights of dawn were in the sky. Cranky and tired, the three shadowhunters had made their way back to the Institute, limping despite the _iratze_ runes etched on their skin, with moderate bitching.

Alec, exhausted by the night, had draw a _stamina_ rune on his arm after his shower, the best way to keep going when he still had so many duties to attend to. He was frowning at a map representing recent demon activities, astounded by the rising numbers it displayed with Raj when he sees Magnus arriving by the standing portal, no official announcement or even a warning text beforehand. His boyfriend beelines for his father’s office without a glance around, wearing sensible clothes and his business face on. That bothers Alec. He knows the warlock is making a considerable (and somewhat useless) effort to tone down his style, probably hoping that it would make Alec’s parents more accepting. Alec feels sick at the idea of Magnus, alone in his loft, trying to figure out which part of himself he should part with to please Maryse and Robert. All to make it easier on Alec. The conversation he had with the warlock before telling him he was going to marry Lydia echoed in his mind, how Magnus had offered to be Alec’s secret, his mistress on the side. Magnus is too selfless when it came to love apparently. Too ready to accept crumbs when he obviously deserves the world.

Alec doesn’t even think, doesn’t give an excuse to Raj, just runs after Magnus to catch up with him.

“Magnus?” he says, just as the warlock reaches for the door handle of Alec’s father’s office.

His boyfriend’s hand freezes immediately and he turns around.

“Alexander! What a pleasant surprise, I didn’t know if you were still on patrol with Izzy.”

Alec stops in front of Magnus and the warlock’s hands go for waist automatically. Alec feels his pulse races and his cheeks burn at the touch and he tilts his head down so he can plant a small kiss on the corner of Magnus’ lips to say hello. “What are you doing here? Is there a problem?”

“Oh… I was summoned by your parents on Clave business. Don’t know what about, though.” Magnus’ cold tone says it all. He hates to be called without being informed what he will be dealing with in advance. It’s just bad form to expect anyone to dive in your problems without preparation.

Alec rolls his eyes at his parents’ rudeness and kisses Magnus again, with far more intent this time. No way he could ever be tired of doing this, of not being afraid of his own desires and feelings. Or of Magnus’ unfocused eyes when he stops the kiss. Alec smiles at him, smug to be the one to put that particular look on Magnus’ beautiful face.

“Want me in there?” he asks, designating his father’s office with his chin.

“That’s tempting darling, but I don’t think your…” Magnus begins playfully, hands on Alec’s hips now, before being cut by the office door opening quickly to reveal Alec’s mother, looking pissed as always.

She looks sharply at the two of them.

“You’re late. Obviously preying on my son is more important than fighting Valentine,” she says with disgust.

Magnus’ hands fall to his side, tightly pulled into fists. His face is blank but Alec can see through it, can read his downcast eyes and the way his jaw works like he knows him forever.  

“Nobody is preying on anyone, mother.” Alec says when he realizes that Magnus isn’t going to answer the accusation. He takes one of his boyfriend’s hand and tugs him behind him, entering his father’s office without being invited in. His dad is at his desk, going through an impressive stack of reports and he barely acknowledges them when they enter the room.

“Alec, you aren’t needed,” Maryse shots, still holding the door, a baffled expression on her face. It obvious to Alec that she still expects him to be a perfect little soldier, doing what he was asked, directly or otherwise.

“If it’s Valentine related, I have a right to know,” he shrugs back. “You can’t ask me to act as the head of the Institute, carrying the duties it comes with and then keep me in the dark when it’s convenient to you.”

Magnus squeezes his hand, discreetly showing him his support.

“Fine. Be that way. See if I care when you get in the way of a Clave representative and they decide to ship you back to Alicante to question you about your… dalliance with this… warlock,” she all but spits back, banging the door closed in her frustration.

“Careful Maryse, your Circle membership is showing,” Magnus says as he points at the side of his own neck in a circular motion, obviously referring to the rune Valentine marks his followers with. “We all know where it got you the last time.”

Alec’s breath gets caught in his throat, torn between his loyalty for his parents and the truth of Magnus’ words. He ends up looking his mother’s in the eyes, still holding Magnus’ hand, daring her to contest what he just said.

“Can we focus on the important matter here?” Robert joins in, massaging his forehead.

Yes, of course dad. The blatant racist hate your wife is carrying in her heart isn’t of consequence, Alec thinks. It’s not like Valentine’s words are spoken with my own mother’s voice against my boyfriend. Avoidance is the way of his father, always burying his head in the sand.

“And what matter would that be? Your fire message was terribly vague. I have a phone you know?” Magnus says, tearing Alec out of his thoughts.

Robert gets up and takes a thick binder to Magnus. Alec internally roll his eyes at himself for being annoyed at losing Magnus’ hand, since the warlock needs them both to go through the documents. Sometimes Izzy’s accusation about him being a surly five-year-old are true.

“New safe houses,” Robert explains to Alec, looking at him as little as possible. “The one we have aren’t safe anymore. Who knows what kind of intel Hodge had the time to give Valentine.”

“Or what Jace could be telling him as we speak,” adds Maryse, surveying Magnus like an hawk, like he’s going to use the binder and its content to kill them all.

“He would never,” Alec protests, his need to defend Jace stronger than his common sense.

“Even if Jace followed his father under duress, to protect you, it doesn’t change the fact that he has to cooperate with him now,” comments Robert.

“Valentine was always persuasive,” Maryse says, barely above a whisper but Alec’s father catches it and his face turns stormy. Alec looks between his parents, obviously missing something important. Secrets upon lies upon old rancors. How could he had been so blind before Lydia told him the truth?

“Ten? You want me to work on ten houses for next week?” exclaims Magnus, oblivious to the new tension in the room.

“You can’t do it?” asks Robert.

“The glamour alone will be expensive and that the easy part. But the warding? I might be an High Warlock but I can’t work that much wards in a week.”

“You seems fine when you worked on the Institute wards.”

“Because I added to them, not build them from scratches. I can’t do that alone. And since you can barely afford me...”

“We pay you enough,” Maryse sneers, her tone cold and cutting. Alec turns to her, to the woman who gave birth to him and raised him and sang to him when he was scared of the dark, eyes wide at what she just implied.

*

“What are you talking about? I’m still waiting on that payment for the last…” Magnus stops himself, catching the meaning of Alec’s mother’s words. He’s left speechless and when he looks at Alec to gauge his reaction, his boyfriend is frozen, looking at his mother with so much hurt that Magnus can feel his magic running through him to his hands, ready to attack the damn woman. He chances a glance at Robert, but the shadowhunter is looking at his hands. Its acceptance of his wife’s words enough. Magnus bits the interior of his cheek, trying to reign in his anger. Lashing out to the head of the Institute wouldn’t be good for his life.

“You can’t speak to him like this.” Magnus is surprise to hear Alec’s voice so strong and steady. “You don’t approve and it’s fine. But I won’t let you get away with this.”

“I’m merely stating the truth. Isabelle is known to pay for information with her body… I guess you can do the same for warlock magic,” she states simply, like prostituting her kids to “disgusting” downworlders is something she made her peace with.

“I told you, mother. You don’t get to speak about us like this. Think what you want of me but you leave Izzy and Magnus alone.”

“This is my house Alec. I’ll speak my mind about whoever I want, however I want.”

Magnus is ready to say something when Alec says in a murmur “You're right.”

For a second, Magnus is the one hurt. Did Alec change his mind? Did going against his parents was finally too much?

“You’re right,” Alec continues louder, going to his mother’s face to spit the words at her face and Magnus never saw him this angry, not even when they fought before the wedding. “It’s your house. I thought it meant that it had to be mine too but I was wrong. I don’t have to deal with your racist bullshit, I don’t have to let you speak to Magnus or to any downworlder that way because you think you’re better. You’re so full of it. Izzy was right, having some angel blood in us doesn’t make us divine, doesn’t make us more worthy. You forgot that again. You should be the one standing with Valentine, not my brother.”

The slap comes so quickly that Alec doesn’t have the time to dodge and it’s so loud that Magnus’ ears seem to ring from it.

“How dare you speak to me this way?” are the only words Maryse angrily uses to justify hitting her son.

“Because I was raised to be a better shadowhunter than you,” Alec says, shaking his head.

With that, Alec leaves the room quickly, not waiting for anyone to follow him. Magnus is tempted to go after him immediately but he knows Alexander will need to cool off on his own. And It’s not like he doesn’t know where Alec could find sanctuary if he was to leave the Institute without seeking Magnus first.

“Maryse, what have you done?” Robert asks, finally opening his mouth.

His wife doesn’t answer and leaves too. It’s a miracle Magnus doesn’t catch fire with the heated glance she gives him doing so.

“Well. I think I’ll be going too. I’ll keep in touch for the safe houses, try to work as fast as I can but don’t hope for next week or the one after that.”

“You will still help us?”

“Not you. Not Maryse,” Magnus assures Robert with stipe. "I have more than one reason to let you suffer at Valentine’s hands. But as stupid as I am for actually caring, I’m not interested in having “innocent” shadowhunter blood on my hands. Now if you excuse me, I have to go and find my boyfriend.”

Magnus leaves the man alone to think about his many failures. Not that he cares. But Alexander and Izzy deserves better.

 

*

“Alexander, darling?” He knocks on his boyfriend’s door. He’s not sure if Alec is in his room but it’s a good place to start.

“Come in.”

Magnus is relieved. Walking around the Institute without shadowhunters supervision is an exercise in restraint for Magnus. The nephilims are suspicious of even their closest downworlder allies. He opens the door and swiftly get inside.

Alec is shoving what seems to be is entire (black and very, very dark grey) wardrobe in a duffel bag.

“Going somewhere, angel?”

“I can’t stay here,” Alec says, emptying a bedside table drawer on his bed, “it would be like I’m agreeing with her shit. And I don’t.” He frowns, looking around for something.

“Where are you gonna stay?

“I… don’t know. I suppose if Luke can’t take me for a while I’ll have to stay in an hotel. I’ll be fine… The Lightwood are kind of filthy rich anyway.” Alec points at the credit cards on the bed.

Magnus remarks that Alec is carefully not looking at him when he answers.

“You could stay with me,” he can’t help but blurt. “It’s not like I can’t pop an extra bedroom for you. No funny business I swear.”

Alec looks at him then. Something in his eyes makes Magnus’ heart melt.

“Wouldn’t that be bad for business? I mean a shadowhunter living in your loft can’t be good for your reputation.”

“Like I need the money,” Magnus says with a derisive snort. He doesn’t, in fact, needs the money. Not when he can snap piles of dollars in his living room if he wanted to.

“No. But you need to get yourself occupied. You’re like a shark... always in motion.” Alec chuckles before continuing to look around his room, not realizing how painfully accurate his assessment of Magnus is.

“You can tell me if you’re not comfortable with staying with me. I understand if…”

“Magnus, you’re really dumb sometimes,” Alec cuts him off, not unkindly.

“I beg you pardon?” Magnus can’t believe what his boyfriend just said.

“Of course I want to stay with you. I mean, obviously I’ll take the extra bedroom but… I’m more than enjoying your company. You have to know that by now,” he says, walking toward Magnus purposefully, maintaining eye contact the whole time. “And I don’t regret being with you or what just happened.”

Magnus smiles at him, cradling the taller man’s face in his hands.

“How are you? What she said… I’m sorry. And I’m also sorry for making a joke about you being my payment when you came ask for help for Izzy.”

“And here you go again, being dumb.” Alec fondly rolls his eyes and takes one of Magnus’ hand and kisses it. “I’m not some sheltered Victorian maiden that can’t hear a swear word without fainting. By the Angel I’m Izzy and Jace’s brother. If I couldn't take a sex joke, I would have died a long time ago because of the way those two talk. You flirting with me was just hard to take because I thought I couldn’t have you.” A pause. “And It’s not just that she implied that I was selling myself to you that upset me. It’s… she just said it like you would accept a person as payment. Like you’re some kind of perverted demon, snatching kids from their cradles. It’s like she can’t see you because you’re a warlock. I see the way it hurts you, I'm not blind. Since we kissed in the church you’ve been less… you. It’s unacceptable.”

Magnus is taken by surprise by the passionate kiss that follows but is quick to answer in kind. Kissing Alexander is easily his favorite thing in the world right now. They lose themselves for a minute, an hour, Magnus isn’t sure. When they part, Alec keep his eyes closed, smiling.

“You know I’ve always believe that leaving this place because of who I was would just be terrifying. That I would beg to stay or something. But the truth is, It’s freeing.”

“You were never like them, Alexander.” Alec opens his eyes at Magnus’ words, confusion in them. “I’m not not talking about your sexuality. You have a kind heart and not one arrogant bone in your body. The fact that you are a Lightwood just boggles the mind.”

Alec blushes prettily and looks away.

“I think I have everything I need…” Alec says, and Magnus let him change the subject with a smile. “I’ll just need some of my weapons and go wake up Izzy and Clary before going.”

“Do you want me to wait for you? I can leave a key if not. I… actually do have some business to attend in Tribeca, but I can reschedule.”

“Nah. Don’t worry. I’ll be okay. Though don’t be surprise if the girls are in the loft when you come home.”

“I will be disappointed in them if they don’t follow you around with blankets and hot cocoa for a few days.”

Alec looks quizzically at him for a moment, like Magnus is speaking in tongues but finally elects to dismiss him with a peck on his forehead.

“I’ll see you at home?” he asks, voice a bit unsure of the choice of words.

“Of course, darling.” Magnus summons a spare key of his loft and gives it to Alec, who stares at it like it’s going to bite him. “I’ll have that extra room ready for you. Tell Izzy she’s free to redecorate.”

“My room?”

“Well it’s not like she’s going to pass an opportunity to subject you to good taste and fluffiness for once.” Magnus laughs, opening the door. “I sure won’t.”

“I resent that!” He hears Alec calling after him and laughs.

Damn. He could love that man with everything he has, given the chance.

**Author's Note:**

> unbeta'd  
> I'm theleftboobgrabber on tumblr, come say hi!
> 
> If you loved it, kudos and comments are ALWAYS a good way to show it, or consider buying me a [coffee](http://ko-fi.com/theleftboobgrabber/)!


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